This is the blog for CARG, the Coronary Artery Rehabilitation Group, based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It will contain items of interest to CARG's own members and anybody else interested in the latest news about rehabilitation and heart-related matters. Canadian charitable number: 89675 0163 RR 0001 || e-mail: carg.ca@gmail.com || website: carg.ca || Blog disclaimer

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Nano technology tackles heart disease

A molecule designed to find, latch onto, then treat hardened arteries could offer a new way to tackle heart disease, say its inventors. Nanoburrs, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), target only damaged cells in blood vessel walls. Once attached, they can release drugs in precisely the right place. But the British Heart Foundation warned the technology was some years from being used in patients. The hardening of the arteries which supply the heart, or atherosclerosis, can eventually lead to blockages which can cause heart attacks. The study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal says specialists normally use tiny balloons to force open the vessels, then place a tube called a stent inside to keep it open